Synoviorthesis with 198Au colloid gold in haemophilia patients. A preliminary report.

In 1988-1989 fifteen patients with severe haemophilia A and recurrent bleedings into the knee joint, aged from 19 to 44 years were treated by an intraarticular injection of 198Au colloid gold. So far 10 of them were assessed after 6 months follow-up. In 6 cases cesseation and in 2 cases reduction in number and volume of bleedings were observed. Only in 2 patients the frequency of haemarthroses remained unchanged. No significant difference in tracer uptake was observed between pretreatment 99mTc-pertechnate gamma scans of the knee joints and controls completed 6 months after the radiogold injections. It is worthy to stress the lower costs of the 198Au synoviorthesis as compared with surgical synovectomy of the knee joint. The radioisotope method is also much less traumatic to the patient than the surgical one.

[Functional capacity of pancreatic B cells in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 with late true ineffectiveness of sulfonylurea derivatives]. / Sprawnosc czynnosciowa komórek B wysp trzustkowych u chorych na cukrzyce typu 2 z pózna rzeczywista nieskutecznoscia pochodynych sulfonylomocznika.

Fasting concentration of the C peptide in serum was estimated in 150 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin because of the late, true ineffectiveness of the sulphonylurea derivatives. In 36 patients selected out of the total group at random the secretion of that peptide was measured after i.v. injection of 1 mg of glucagon. Only 9 patients showed trace amounts of that peptide at morning fast (Group A--0.17 +/- 0.08 nmol/l), in 69 the secretion was normal (Sub-Group B1--0.80 +/- 0.25 nmol/l), in 48 moderately elevated (Sub-Group B2--1.67 +/- 0.10 nmol/l) and in 24 markedly elevated (Sub-Group B3--4.54 +/- 2.57 nmol/l). The increments of the peptide C concentration after glucagon stimulation were parallel to its fasting concentration, which indicated a proper reactivity of the pancreatic beta-cells in patients with normal or increased basal secretion. The patients with only trace secretion of the peptide C differed from the other by their small, normal body mass and by a longer duration of insulin treatment. Very similar insulin needs must be stressed in the patients of the Groups A and B as well as within the Sub-Groups B. In patients with hyperactivity of the beta-cells (Sub-Group B2 and B3) no differences were found, as compared with the other patients, in the prevalence of chronic diabetes complications of the micro- or macroangiopathy type, also prevalence of hypertension was equal. The results presented show that in the most patients with type 2 diabetes, with the late, true ineffectiveness of the sulphonylurea derivatives the secretory function of the pancreatic islets beta-cells remains normal or is even increased.

[Ultrasonographic and scintigraphic studies of "hot" autonomic thyroid nodules]. / Badania ultrasonograficzne i gammagraficzne w "goracych" autonomicznych guzkach tarczycy.

Scintigraphic and gammagraphic (gamma-camera) techniques have been applied in diagnosing "hot" non-TSH dependent thyroid nodules. On the basis of frequent uneven accumulation of isotopic tracer observed in scintigraphic studies it was concluded that the structure of these nodules is heterogeneous. In some cases paradoxical patterns have been obtained following the dynamic tests of suppression and stimulation of the thyroid: after the administration of thyroid preparations paranodular thyroid tissue appears, while TSH administration causes an increase in the iodine uptake by the nodule. Ultrasonographic and gamma-camera studies have been carried out in 50 cases of "hot" autonomic thyroid nodules previously diagnosed by scintigraphy. Ultrasonographic studies revealed a weaker echogenicity in some cases and an intensified echo in the other. Sometimes by using this technique it was possible to demonstrate the occurrence of heterogeneous structures suggesting a cystic degeneration of the nodule. Paranodular thyroid tissue, invisible in scintigraphic scanning, could usually be observed by applying gamma-camera. It was concluded that both gamma camera and ultrasonographic studies confirm heterogeneous structure of intranodular tissue producing paradoxical patterns in scintigraphic scanning, with the latter technique usually aiding the detection of paranodular thyroid tissue without the necessity of application of the TSH test.